Canadian Sim 28th and Richardson 88th
by Justin Onslow
FLW PRESS RELEASE
FLW Tour rookie Nick LeBrun is no stranger to
Sam Rayburn Reservoir, but that doesn’t necessarily explain his day one
eruption on the Tour’s first stop of the 2019 season. Abnormally high water
levels at Rayburn this week have all but eliminated the “local advantage” for
the lake’s regulars, but LeBrun still found a way to sack up 29 pounds, 2
ounces to kick off the tournament and pace the rest of the 170-angler field.
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| Great start to the 2019 season. Rayburn is flooded and warm. (Photo: FLW) |
The Bossier City, La., native has fished
Rayburn and Toledo Bend perhaps as much as any southern lake. He considers both
to be his home lakes, though his focus for the last month-plus has been on
Rayburn and the Tour’s first event of the year. Still, preparation only goes so
far when a lake’s water level is nearly 10 feet above full pool.
“The lake’s never been this high, and I really
didn’t know what it was going to do,” he says. “Once I knew that some of my
fish (from December prefishing) were still there, I had to spend a day or two
to find out what’s going to be the deal to get them fired up where you can
catch them one after the other.”
LeBrun spent most of the day — and caught most
of his fish — throwing a crawfish color Bill Lewis 1/2-ounce Rat-L-Trap.
He only needed a couple spots to do his damage.
“My marshal said I had a limit in like seven
minutes after I went to the second spot,” LeBrun says. “I probably caught 20
fish today.”
Twenty wasn’t a gaudy total for day one at
Rayburn — several anglers mentioned catching upwards of 60 keepers — but LeBrun
found the right mix of quantity and quality. He did so to the tune of his
best-ever individual limit in a tournament.
And he sure picked a good day to do it.
Sam George – 28-5 (5)
LeBrun outpaced fellow rookie Sam George on
day one, but not by much. The 23-year-old Athens, Ala., pro appeared to be
headed for the top spot at weigh-ins before being bumped to second by LeBrun’s
monster stringer. He finished the day just 14 ounces short of the outright
lead.
“I really—and I know everybody’s going to
think I’m lying—but I really only had one good bite the entire practice,” he
says. “It was on a deal that felt like it had potential, but I really only had
one area that had what I was looking for.”
George ran around looking for similar areas
throughout the day, and he found one at 8 o’clock that produced a near
6-pounder. From there, he continued to roll, filling out his limit and culling
up to his eventual 28-pound, 5-ounce stringer, thanks in large part to a 9-3
behemoth.
“They’re pre-spawn fish, but they’re on a very
specific kind of grass and a break line,” he admits. “I can’t find enough of
it. I found one place in practice that had what I wanted.”
Chad Warren – 25-7 (5)
Chad Warren of Sand Springs, Okla., pulled six
keepers off his first spot of the day and left plenty of meat on the bone for
day one. If conditions hold, there’s a good chance he’ll get another crack at
those same schools of fish on Friday that he opted to leave hungry and biting
on Thursday.
